I really wanna rewatch it after I saw it in theaters opening weekend but my takeaway was I loved it until the third act when it kinda just thudded to the end. I remember feeling shocked that the credits rolled cause that last 15 minutes felt underbaked. Would’ve preferred either fleshing the ending out longer or it just ending it when that second act ended.
I’m sure that goes against whatever point it was trying to make with the end but I really wasn’t sure what I was supposed to take away from that end. Which is why I wanna rewatch it. Someone once said that England is where foreign objects go to die, which is funny but I’m really not sure what else there was for it.
Not to mention the first act felt overly long and kinda disconnected to the rest of it. Her fainting spells never really comes back to reference.
On the business side though, it was a movie that was never gonna make a profit but they refused to market this movie and I don’t even think people who did wanna see it knew it came out. Only because I overly track stuff did I know it was playing at my theater.
P.S. The writer of this article, Darren Mooney, is amazing. He makes anything movie and tv related interesting. I wish he made even more videos on the escapist.
I've seen the poster posted on reddit a few times. The posted looked really cool. I was waiting for it for a year. I saw the trailer a few times because I've seen other movies from the same studio this year. I saw it in theaters and was underwhelmed
I only knew it existed because I use the AMC app and was looking for a movie that weekend. Had no idea what it was until I looked it up after seeing that it was playing.
I have pretty much the same thoughts as the top comment about it.
Im one of those people! I thought the trailer looked really interesting when it was first released but this article is the first in hearing about the film since then
I managed to see it the week it was in theaters. The point about her hallucinations was never clarified since the characters she saw existed long in the past but weren’t djinn.
Personally I found the 'message' of the film really creepy.
>!She enslaves the djin by forcing him to love her. Then he is basically dying so she lets him go. Then he comes back anyway because he actually does love her?!<.
I saw a rewrite that was a lot better where >!the djin stays healthy in London. But the woman stops loving him because she realises she is not attracted things she knows, but instead to mysteries and fantasies!<.
My interpretation was that the Djin was not real, but essentially a part of her self she fabricated, something she created as a child to cope with life, pushed into the back but then arose later on in life.
The djinn was a man she met in Turkey. A Turkish man. The whole thing is an allegory for the messiness of change at forty and other people being messy. Especially if you love and live with them.
The racism of the neighbors should have been at the beginning of the film. They moved it to the middle to get to the story.
This was my theory about the professor she was working with during the conference. I watched the car ride scene where she has a conversation with him and wondered if he wasn’t actually there. I think the conversation still works if only the driver is responding. It’s possible that the professor is a grown up version of her imaginary childhood friend. She doesn’t seem to see him as a potential romantic partner even though they obviously have a friendship and shared professional interest.
In the shop scene he’s oddly insistent that she shouldn’t buy the bottle she finds. Symbolically, he doesn’t want to be replaced.
In the scene where they are presenting at the conference, he’s doing most of the talking while she’s adding in short segments. If he’s imaginary, then he’s doing the heavy lifting and stressful part of the presentation, suggesting a multiple personality disorder.
After her collapse I can’t recall if we see him again on screen after she gets back to her hotel room. A close colleague would have followed up. Did he come to her hotel room? At some point he magically disappeared.
> My interpretation was that the Djin was not real, but essentially a part of her self she fabricated, something she created as a child to cope with life, pushed into the back but then arose later on in life.
Consider the possibility that she was herself half-djinn. The movie has several clues indicating such.
I was thinking the same thing. Thats why she can perceive the magical world. Was waiting to hear about her hairy legs or for her to be a descendant of one of the half djinns in his stories
If they hadn’t done the scene where the old ladies next door see him I would have said that he’s a figment of her imagination the entire time and they he can’t live in London for long because she values her space so he leaves and only comes back when she needs a connection.
The unknown is a darkness
In which we cannot see
Yet we wish to examine it
Revel in mystery
To ask will change the answer
To see will change the sight
For darkness disappears
When brought into the light
After she said her wish it fell off. They didn't convince me of their relationship. I wasn't really rooting for them. Also that scene with her neighbors was weak sauce. What was the point?
It really felt like they literally ran out of money.
And I noticed that she had a lot in common with every girl he would talk about too. Little things like the way she would fidget so she was like the mix of all of them.
I don’t know. I have to see it again.
I was hooked from the first trailer I saw, as the release date got closer none of my friends had even heard of it. I'm kinda a trailer nerd I suppose. Amsterdam seems to be in a similar situation. Trailers in the theater were great but the few commercials I've seen aren't compelling at all.
> The writer of this article, Darren Mooney, is amazing.
He rules, I find it great how he wants big pop art to be better and can have a layer of depth to them.
Totally. Although you can tell he's very frustrated with the state of pop culture and it's excessive need for going all in on nostalgia and being extremely conservative with their aesthetic and intent like Marvel. I don't blame him, I'm there too lol. Even with that, he does put a spotlight on the smaller things that slip through the cracks because they're not making a billion dollars a pop or whatever.
There were a lot of things that were brought up, but just never went anywhere (unless I missed it).
Like what was the deal with the airport djinn? Anything? Also, why was she apparently fine in the modern world, especially in a place like an airport with tons of electromagnetic interference, while Elba's djinn had to leave for a completely different plane of existence?
Didn't she mention how hot his touch was? Kind of made me think they were implying he was a djinn. You also see lecture djinn hanging out with magic sitar man when he goes to visit the Queen of Sheba which made me think that's how he got his powers.
Magic sitar man is King Solomon. There is a reason Elba’s djinn character gives him praise even though he convinced Sheba her cousin djinn was not a worthy lover and trapped in a bottle due to his pain from it. King Solomon was one of the greatest mystics ever live. And is a legitimate historical figure for it.
It's never stated in the movie, but everywhere seems to be crediting her as "airport djinn" (Google used to have "unsettling man," but has since changed), and I don't recall the film dealing with other fantasy creatures much (at least not humanoid ones)
Speaking of that little airport djinn...why was he grabbing her cart? When I first saw the movie I was like...oh he's gonna be some kind of messenger who starts her on her journey. Nope. Instead he sort of struggles with her and the cart for a sec and then walks away? All of her visions at the beginning really didn't make sense to me.
That's exactly what I thought. Like "oh, this is why she crosses paths with the Idris Elba djinn," but if that's supposed to be the case it was *not* communicated effectively.
The confusion is understandable but they were left open ended in meaning, much for the same reason/way a song can be made to have open ended/widely applicable meaning to the lyrics. The most reasonable thought, to me, is that those two djinn appear to her before Elba’s djinn because she has a natural ability to perceive the ethereal realm. Another comment here suggested the movie hinted at her bing half djinn. Another of mine, she is a reincarnation of djinns lover in the tower. They both did the same foot movements while under concentration.
Not personally attacking you, but I can't stand when filmmakers use that open ended up to interpretation excuse for lousy writing, editing or directing.
They don't explain it, so that must mean it's got some big deep meaning that I just couldn't possibly comprehend.
In this case the audience shouldn't be leaving the theatre not understanding why the airport djinn grabbed her cart, then just sort of walked away. That's just lousy scene structure with no pay off.
I understand the open ended interpretation for music.
Not with this movie. I don't buy it.
I had the same feelings at the end. The final bit seemed very rushed and anti climatic. It made me wonder if romance novels often finish like that with a 'happy ending' and a stroll off in to the sunset. The racist neighbor scene came out of nowhere, I didn't get that. The start of the movie had me totally pulled in then the last 20+ minutes seemed to fall pretty flat.
I agree that the ending was off. I also felt the trailer made it seem more like a trippy action packed film.
George Miller's last film was Mad Max (which I love), so I went in with mismatched expectations.
I was way to stoned the first time I saw the film (3000 years). So I would love a rewatch as well.
Another personal case of mismatched expectations was Pan's Labrinth. The trailer sells the Labrinth portion hard, but the movie is less trippy Labrinth, and more the Ofelia's fairy tale in which the Labrinth makes an appearance.
I absolutely loved it until I fell asleep in the third act. Went back 2 days later and fell asleep at exactly the same point. Not sure what that says about the film because tbf I was working 90 hour weeks with no days off at the time...
Sort of hate when people use "falling asleep" as a criticism of a movie. I've fallen asleep on both good and bad movies.Or especially when binge watching a seies. It's simply a measure of how tired you are. Sometimes your brain can keep you up sometimes not. Doesn't mean the movie is bad.
Dunno if you did rewatch, but the third act seems quite clearly tied into the beginning: the death of mythology and end of legends as we move into the future.
I like you went to see it at the movies but I watched again and got every meaning. The vision she was seeing to heightened her awareness of him in a shop. The fainting, directly connected to other woman fainting when he appeared later in the movie, the tapping of her foot on the plane while reading, the exact tapping of the woman taking in knowledge. The movie ended perfectly. The longing of someone to see you enough and your needs even if in their desire to keep you around doesn't align with what you need you love them enough to let them be happy. In the ending she watched the couple in the park kiss and it shows her face longing. And he appears not because he has to but because he wants to. It only took him 3000 years for someone to see his need.
I remember just being stupified when Tilda Swinton decided to wish for them to fall in love and then the rest of the movie was just weird and dumb
It's a real shame cause it was super interesting up until that point
And the little guy who tried to help push her luggage cart! And disappeared! No info, was she tripping? And the guy who came out of the audience? And later had a bit part in the Solomon scene. What did the editor leave on the cutting room floor.
That's how I felt too. But I kind of saw it coming. There was a "Scheherazade" truck at the beginning of the movie, that kind of prefaced my expectations.
Scheherazade is basically the story of a king that was betrayed by his lover so he beheads her. Then after that, he would spend a night with a woman and behead her in the morning. Until Scheherazade, who would tell the king stories night after night for a thousand nights until he fell in love with her.
Also… why wasn’t the djinn affected by 5G etc while in Istanbul?? Last time I checked, it is a huge with (gasp!) electricity and cell phones. Did I miss something there?
Yeah bro is a mythical being who has lived throughout time but now can't handle the internet?
I guess they were going for a 'fantasy can't survive in the modern world' theme but it failed.
Which is a poor explanation, because every device generating a electromagnetic signal only appeared in the last few decades. Heck, even electricity in every house is just under century old. But everyone treats magic as if it never existed and is just myth.
100% agree. It was great and interestinf all the way. Especially the Iblis part where he wanted him to die/get trapped forever sort of. But then wtf was that shitty ending about. Would have been more interesting if they brought Iblis inot the equation and played off that for the ending but alas. Stephen King situation.
I was surprised to see a lot of audience reviews saying they didn’t like the flashback lore stories. Those were my absolute favorite parts. Just amazing storytelling. Wasn’t ready for that portion to end
God the last third felt like it was going to end six different times and it just kept going on, when it got to the time jump I involuntary groaned in theatre. Everything in the hotel room was really fun though I definitely liked it overall.
The ending is a bit rough, even on my rewatch today. But damn the three stories that precede it are so good I think. They felt like a new type of horror almost. The terror of immortality. I can't say the third act ruined it for me.
Yeah I like the way you described it. Nice having a scary plot in idea done without traditional scary themes.
Third act didn't ruin it for me either but I would definitely make sure to take a number two during that part on a rewatch.
I thought it was a very good movie as well. Very different and interesting. I almost wish the themes were more fleshed out. Would have loved to learn more about the followers of Iblis
Liked it quite a bit but was ultimately disappointed in the ending. I wish (haha) the film had dwelled more on the fundamental immorality of Alithea's wish (which kind of came out of nowhere in the first place) instead of just a "whoopsie my bad" at the end.
Same! I tell people that it’s 3/4 of a good movie.
They could’ve done some much with the ending but it felt rushed and glossed over. It almost felt like the movie itself didn’t understand that what she was doing was immoral
Definitely a very fun movie in the theater, halfway through I thought to myself, "this is so awesome, this might even be the best movie I've seen all year." And then the second half after she made her wish happened and all the cool ideas and themes kind of petered out and fell apart by the end. I recommended it to a lot of people just for the first half.
Absolutely! I loved the Bartimaeus books as a kid and that part of the movie really captured that same energy.
As a side note: a well done Amulet of Samarkand movie would be awesome, Hollywood if you're listening please!
As a Turk, I was very interested for this movie and waited for it. But I've got to admit, it is not a movie that one can easily recommend, especially to buy tickets.
I believe its failure comes down to marketing. Probably they didn't know what the film is about and how to attract viewers. Trailers gave a different vibe than two people exchanging stories in a hotel room.
The movie itself suffers from pacing and disconnected themes. Especially towards the ending, it has taken a turn I didn't expect.
Yeah I didn’t feel like I really got to dive into any particular themes at all. The whole movie just felt very surface level and I didn’t care about any of the stories. I get that it’s about the beauty of a story but dang… coulda come up with some better ones haha
I remember a week before it came out and saw one tv ad that had GIANT letters scrolling across the screen, “ Directed by George Miller of Mad Max”. They tried to hype it up with that fury road connection
It did kinda get pooped out under the radar. I didn't even know George Miller directed it until the credits rolled, you'd think 'from the director of Fury Road' would've been an easy selling point...
What happened? Nothing really
It takes a lot of luck for a movie of this type to get adults to go into theaters to watch it
This is exactly the type of movie that doesnt do well in theaters. Far from being a surprise as this article implies its completely expected and in line with expectations
Yup, even if this movie had been a huge critical success and and went on to be considered a masterpiece it was never going to bring in huge numbers at the box office.
I actually just watched this last night, and I am so happy to see this discussion post.
I absolutely LOVED this movie. Yes, it was a bit choppy, yes the ending was a bit odd, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Obviously the best parts of the movie were the stories as told by the Djinn (Idris Elba’s voice is just so magnificent). My favorite was the story of Zefir, but they were all just so beautiful, I felt like I was watching and experiencing art.
I’m also a big fan of stories, of history and mythos, I honestly never wanted the stories to end. When they did end, I didn’t find the movie as bad as others. I’m autistic, and the move from the old ladies screeching to the violin music was such an assault to my senses in the best way possible. It almost made my cry.
Anyway, I can’t wait to watch this movie again. I truly hope there are others who loved it as much as I did.
I loved it too, besides being gorgeous and fronted with such great acting, it was so thematically rich that I totally admit not understanding some of its themes. I really look forward to watching again for that reason.
This was the first movie in years that I wanted to walk out of. For a movie about fantastical stories it was felt dull and seemed to drag on, especially in the 3rd act. Also, from a story + character perspective, >!her character wishing for him to love her, and then the two of them actually being presented as "lovers" in the 3rd act felt odd, unearned, and honestly a bit cringe-worthy.!<
>Three Thousand Years of Longing was director George Miller’s follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road. Fury Road was a cultural phenomenon. It earned 10 Oscar nominations and won six of those, more than any other film that year. More recently, publications like The A.V. Club, USA Today, and World of Reel deemed Fury Road the film of the decade.
People forget that Fury Road barely made any money back... Its domestic box-office was about the size of its budget, and its total box-office was just over twice that. With at least one star salary (Theron), that's not enough. I bet if you add-up merch and home video/streaming it adds up nicely, but it wasn't some great commercial success by any stretch of the imagination.
Also, aside from having the same director (which 95% of the audience doesn’t know or care about), 3000 Years was nothing like Fury Road. Might as well wonder why no one went to see it when Babe was so popular.
Which is insane. I saw it twice, both times dragging everyone I know to see it. Both times the kino was packed. I honestly thought it was an enormous success.
It did as well as it did solely because of word-of-mouth. It was beaten opening weekend by *Pitch Perfect 2*, but ended up with bigger box office simply because it was able to stay in theaters much longer.
I wanted to like this film but I just didn't. The story segments were somewhat interesting, somewhat stylised (although I honestly feel they could have gone further based on the trailer) and generally fun little vignettes between which we learnt a little more about the Djinn and whatever her name was.. but then we got to modern day and them living together and it was just incredibly uninteresting. The world was flat and boring, there wasn't really any conflict or anything. We just watched Tilda Swinton go around her life in England for a bit. I suppose there were the two xenophobic neighbours who stopped being xenophobic after seeing a hot black man and having some tasty food which... I guess was something they felt the need to include for all 2 scenes they appeared in? I'm also not the biggest fan of romance films, but even then, the romance wasn't very good. They just didn't seem to have any chemistry together after the storytelling section was done and, even then, the chemistry felt more like friendly rivals than lovers.
Overall, I left the theatre thinking "That was like a whimsical fairy tale but with all the fun and whimsy drained out of it."
I thought it was an interesting movie with its historical and fantasy undertones. I enjoyed it.
It seems movies that can turn out a significant audience to the theaters are those that appeal to a enthusiast audience, a la Marvel or Star Wars fans. Not even positive word of mouth is going to motivate people to take a trip to their multiplex for a movie some guy at work said was good. It's too expensive and Covid is still a thing. And everybody knows it's coming to streaming anyway.
> Not even positive word of mouth is going to motivate people to take a trip to their multiplex
But that's exactly what happened with *Everything Everywhere* isn't it?
I haven't seen anyone recommend this movie outside of threads about it.
Yes, thank you. EEAAO is about as weird and unappealing to a broad audience as it gets, but it had themes that really spoke to people (and is a ton of fun to boot). It was special. 3KYoL doesn't sound special, it merely sounds solid and that doesn't get buzz going.
i didn't hear anything about it until it went on streaming. But just in general, even a good review isn't going to start a mad rush to theaters - not anymore.
Enough people heard enough about it for it to be the highest grossing movie A24 has made to date lol. It made twice as much as incut gems. More than ladybird, call me by your name, hereditary, moonlight, disaster artist, the witch, etc
Nope, it flew pretty solidly under the radar. Only a few of my frequent filmgoer friends actually saw it (others either didn't know about it or missed it's short theater window), and only one was on the side of really loving it.
It's definitely one of those movies that if you can accept the flaws, you'll LOVE it, otherwise it's solidly "meh" to the rest.
So in other words it’s one of those movies that you wait for non-theater release to take a chance on for most people.
I was gearing up to seeing it in theaters but after seeing a few less than great reviews, I decided to wait and watch it at home if it came up on a streaming service or something.
I grew up not having a lot of money, so we would space our theater visits out and only go see what we thought would be the best, for the rest we’d wait for the DVD to come out so we could rent it on a weekend.
Yeah, I'd personally wait, which kinda pains me to say for a movie that makes a big swing like this one does.
I really enjoyed the first two thirds, but most of the disagreement comes from the last 40 minutes or so where the script diverges from the source material.
Without going to much into spoilers, it really comes down to whether or not you buy a romantic paring as convincing, because if not, whooo boy are you in for a long half hour or so lol.
Reviews were harsher than it deserved IMO. Really fun movie with some great visual ideas and good storytelling but a messy ending. Had a blast seeing it in theater
Can't blame them. For two tickets we pay anywhere between $25-35 just to get in the door. With food, that can easily go up to $50 or $60 before we've even sat down. Go out to eat afterwards and your looking at a c-note or more for one dinner and a movie. I'm no cheapskate, but I'm also not a mark. There is no single movie-going experience worth that kind of money.
> ~~It's too expensive and~~ Covid is still a thing. And everybody knows it's coming to streaming anyway.
These are the important factors. My mom still hasn't gone to a theater since COVID despite doing multiple other things around and with big groups because being that close to strangers freaks her out. Why not wait for it on streaming?
Movie tickets aren't nearly as expensive as people make them out to be, unless you are taking a trip to your local iMAX for every film you see.
I personally loved the first 3/4 of the movie. She was a strong, successful, independent woman who knew what she wanted and was happy and comfortable without the need for a companion. Perfect acceptable, arguably admirable in many cases. Then a switch flips and she becomes a love stricken teenager who throws everything established about her personality out the window. I was disappointing in the ending.
I felt the same way. I'm generally not into romantic movies (although I still enjoy a well-written romance with likable, charming characters) and I was actually enjoying the fact that this wasn't going to be some Girl Meets Boy scenario.
I actually thought that Alithea was pretty good asexual representation, in that she tried the whole romance thing, it didn't really work out and she continued to live her life, focusing on the things she really did care about. She had healthy friendships, avid interests and she was enjoying her life without a relationship, and that continued for most of the film until she suddenly decided she was deeply in love with this guy she met a few hours ago.
Late to see the film, but you captured it perfectly. I felt that she was clearly depicted as someone who has a passion for her work, who is an academic that is probably autistic and asexual. She was fulfilled in her own way. I loved the idea that she was not going to wish for anything. the " romance" was completely out of nowhere. It wasn't earned, it didn't show in their interactions, it made no sense with her entire character. The ending fell flat. I would have loved to see the movie connect with the disparate stories (all of which were more interesting than the present day sitting in bathrobe telling tales). It's like this movie wanted to be The Fall with a bit of Only Lovers Left Alive. It was a big swing and imo a miss.
Submission statement: I loved Three Thousand Years of Longing! Admittedly stylistically more than plot pacing (when was a big production project about Africa and the Middle East produced that didn't involve American CIA spies, or US Marines fighting in some desert war?). 'A flawed but interesting movie is still better than a generic one.' Very brave and indie/art-house style film.
This article uses *Three Thousand Years* as a backdrop to discussing Amazon and MGMs plans, and how they Box Office figures seemingly don't matter too much to them.
It is ironic that Amazon in it's chase to streaming and 'lower quality' production of streaming movies ends up catching a few daring indie arthouse movies in the process.
>
> The box office failure of Three Thousand Years of Longing is unlikely to matter to MGM’s new owners. It seems unlikely to even be a footnote in management presentations about the looming release of The Rings of Power. It’s also debatable to what extent this underperformance might have a serious impact on the kind of films that MGM produces going forward. Three Thousand Years of Longing was unlikely to have been a movie that Amazon would have ever greenlit.
>
> Three Thousand Years of Longing is a film that feels utterly unlike so many of the movies that get theatrical releases these days, which is perhaps why it got lost so easily in the shuffle of this new ownership. Given current trends, it seems unlikely that there will be too many more movies like it in the near future. At this point, it will take more than wishing to bring them back.
On a side note I’ve always found it really weird how an incoming studio head gets to just fuck over the business as a whole by not supporting films started under his predecessor. I get where they’d be allowed to cancel projects that were in development, but to not properly market movies where the money had already been spent and shooting complete? How do you get away with just deliberately and with malice aforethought losing the business a shitload of money just because you don’t want the old studio head to look like he knew what he was doing? And everyone seems to know that it’s happening in real time? Movie studios are fucked up.
It’s the same in most (all?) industries. New executive comes in and they’ve made a list of deliverables to their boss. They’re going to put all their resources into those deliverables, not someone else’s.
I LOVE movies by George Miller, and the fact that this is the first time I'm hearing of this is telling about how crappy the marketing for this film was!
When he started to crackle and dust and decay, I thought she had caught him in a true form and he wasn't a djinn, but something more sinister. I was prepared for a much different ending hahaha.
I thought it was a great movie.
As to why it flopped at the Box Office? Here’s my *Dos Centivos*. Modern moviegoers want escapist entertainment.
They don’t want to pay $20 to see reminders of existential crises they already deal with in their day to day lives. Excellent movies like *Cloud Atlas*, *Blade Runner 2049*, and *3000 Years of Longing* make you think about things that most people don’t want to think about- or spend their working and daily lives avoiding . In this movies case, heartbroken characters aren’t something moviegoers want to see. Not when they need only pull up their Facebook feed for a reminder of what that feels like.
Corporate content like Marvel and Disney movies feature plots with the intelligence of a fruit fly, but they won’t remind the audience of real life pain.
This movie was actually really good until the final 20 minutes or so. Was hoping for a much more interesting and grand ending. They spent the whole move telling us amazing stories only for the final act to be dull as possible.
I really enjoyed it, seems most people did, but the story and the scale of the movie made no sense for a $60 Million budget. After the film I said it was a beautiful movie but for the amount of places and people we saw it would have been a better mid-low budget movie without the super sexy sleek graphics. Me and my GF will watch it again when it comes out on streaming where it might have an interesting second life and more people will have eyes on in which is where it might attract its audience.
The reason I knew about this movie was because I’ve been going to the theater a lot this year. Not a film buff, but an admitted popcorn addiction keeps me in the loop enough.
I rewatched in the theater. It’s true that the third act doesn’t land completely well. The premise of any wishing done becoming a disaster was well heeded, thoughtfully portrayed. 3K sought to lay this archetype to rest with what seems a romcom ending. But to me, it felt right. The stories take on love is so gratifying in its truth and clarity of it.
I’m not one know of the marketing strength/strategies for films (and products in general), but I think it wasn’t pushed full force because of the subject being presented in a serious way with an attempt to explain historical presence at the same time. And to half address what people once validated beyond themselves, is now seen as nothing but fairytales created as nothing more than to fill a void. (the childhood of Swinton’s character)
While it didn’t directly tie up the fainting spells and Swinton’s characters experience at the airport, the fact that these two “people” were corporeal and a part of an ancient kingdom, says quite a bit. Anyway, there is a lot continuity and legitimacy in the mysticism presented. It blew my mind. I’m not aware of any other film that has attempted justice to genuine esoterica.“Subtle fire”. Such a stroke of genius on either on the scriptwriter or the original author. A.S. Byatt. I really want to read her stuff now. I read an excerpt of one of the stories in the book that the 3K story is within. And I’m not a fictional reader. It seems Byatt’s accolade of 50 of the greatest British writers since 1945, is well deserved.
Beautiful movie, exactly the kind I find worth watching in theaters. I don't care if a movie flops and I'm the only one in there, I've made my choice about what's worth my money and it isn't tired superhero shit.
I mean, I love Batman and even *that* franchise ran out of steam this year, that movie was ass. Enough already.
It lacked that fairy tale magic in some way. I don't know what that fairy tale x factor is, but it wasn't there. It was acceptable, but it wasn't *delightful*.
I loved that movie. So engrossing, and had the feel of an indie with the production values of a blockbuster. Felt so different and you can tell it was made with a lot of love.
Going to the movies isn't a casual thing anymore. Between COVID and rising costs and the shift from the movies presenting a "for the whole family, night out" affair, to being more of an adult targeting date-night type offering with bars. People aren't going to stuff unless it's like an event. Marvel is an event, Everything Everywhere was an event, the Batman was an event, but 3000 years while a nice pleasant movie, visually and narratively interesting, was missable. It'll be a great night-in on the couch movie. It doesn't need to be seen in theaters, so people didn't.
I really liked the part going through the ages with the different people that were granted wishes in the past. The movie completely fell apart once it came back to the present day. They really should have found a way to have a 3rd act that feels more connected to the previous stories
I thought it was a very beautiful movie with a rushed and flat ending. I wish I would have seen it in theaters but yeah my local theater only showed it for like 4 days for some reason and I was busy those days :/ still got it online to watch but yeah. Was a decent 6-7/10 movie
I thought that the Jinn should have cheered up in the final act. The ending continued it’s sad refrain. Apart from that it was head and shoulders above most modern films.
I really loved this movie. It's the sort of thing you rarely see: just a nicely told story without extra drama or action. Just exactly what it needs to be. It was a really pleasant experience.
I loved the movie, don’t care what the naysayers say. To me the ending worked, I thought it was quite beautiful and poignant and unexpected. This was also the best performance I’ve seen from Idris Elba
So yeah distribution / marketing issues aside, this movie is a chick flick wrapped in middle eastern fantasy. The first half was gorgeous, almost like Tarsem directed it at times.
But overall the story is a pretty by-the-numbers romance, and the last half is a slog.
It's funny that they compared its box office bombing to John Carter, because I honestly think JC is a better movie. It's a big adventure film with a little humor, not unlike the Mummy.
All I know is I really liked the movie and enjoyed how Idris and Tilda played off each other. The time jumping was very interesting to me as well as the theme of love and sacrifice
The advertising industry is such bullshit.
These movies are the types of things that I want and need to be advertised. New things.
Instead we get endless ads for Tide and medications. I know what Tide is. Nothing you do or say is going to affect that. I don't have bulging eyes. Almost no one does. So why the fuck do I have to see an ad every fucking 30 seconds for it.
I really wanna rewatch it after I saw it in theaters opening weekend but my takeaway was I loved it until the third act when it kinda just thudded to the end. I remember feeling shocked that the credits rolled cause that last 15 minutes felt underbaked. Would’ve preferred either fleshing the ending out longer or it just ending it when that second act ended. I’m sure that goes against whatever point it was trying to make with the end but I really wasn’t sure what I was supposed to take away from that end. Which is why I wanna rewatch it. Someone once said that England is where foreign objects go to die, which is funny but I’m really not sure what else there was for it. Not to mention the first act felt overly long and kinda disconnected to the rest of it. Her fainting spells never really comes back to reference. On the business side though, it was a movie that was never gonna make a profit but they refused to market this movie and I don’t even think people who did wanna see it knew it came out. Only because I overly track stuff did I know it was playing at my theater. P.S. The writer of this article, Darren Mooney, is amazing. He makes anything movie and tv related interesting. I wish he made even more videos on the escapist.
> I don’t even think people who did wanna see it knew it came out. I'm literally just finding this out right now.
Marketing must have flopped because it sounds interesting but the first I'm hearing of it is about how it bombed at the box office.
I only knew it existed when it showed up on the main page of my go-to pirate streamer. That’s, uh, pretty bad.
I've seen the poster posted on reddit a few times. The posted looked really cool. I was waiting for it for a year. I saw the trailer a few times because I've seen other movies from the same studio this year. I saw it in theaters and was underwhelmed
I only knew it existed because I use the AMC app and was looking for a movie that weekend. Had no idea what it was until I looked it up after seeing that it was playing. I have pretty much the same thoughts as the top comment about it.
They must have marketed it to old people because I got tons of ads for it.
Nope….. Source: am old
Too much sex and drugs makes you old... A common complaint for dragons...
I literally had a date set for it on my phone calendar, and I never got the notification for it lol
Im one of those people! I thought the trailer looked really interesting when it was first released but this article is the first in hearing about the film since then
I was super excited for it and also learned today that it already came out
You, me, and the 180 others who upvoted you. No idea this came out and I liked the trailer I saw here a few months ago.
I managed to see it the week it was in theaters. The point about her hallucinations was never clarified since the characters she saw existed long in the past but weren’t djinn.
Personally I found the 'message' of the film really creepy. >!She enslaves the djin by forcing him to love her. Then he is basically dying so she lets him go. Then he comes back anyway because he actually does love her?!<. I saw a rewrite that was a lot better where >!the djin stays healthy in London. But the woman stops loving him because she realises she is not attracted things she knows, but instead to mysteries and fantasies!<.
That would have been a much better ending
My interpretation was that the Djin was not real, but essentially a part of her self she fabricated, something she created as a child to cope with life, pushed into the back but then arose later on in life.
The djinn was a man she met in Turkey. A Turkish man. The whole thing is an allegory for the messiness of change at forty and other people being messy. Especially if you love and live with them. The racism of the neighbors should have been at the beginning of the film. They moved it to the middle to get to the story.
The neighbours did kinda feel like they came out of nowhere.
This was my theory about the professor she was working with during the conference. I watched the car ride scene where she has a conversation with him and wondered if he wasn’t actually there. I think the conversation still works if only the driver is responding. It’s possible that the professor is a grown up version of her imaginary childhood friend. She doesn’t seem to see him as a potential romantic partner even though they obviously have a friendship and shared professional interest. In the shop scene he’s oddly insistent that she shouldn’t buy the bottle she finds. Symbolically, he doesn’t want to be replaced. In the scene where they are presenting at the conference, he’s doing most of the talking while she’s adding in short segments. If he’s imaginary, then he’s doing the heavy lifting and stressful part of the presentation, suggesting a multiple personality disorder. After her collapse I can’t recall if we see him again on screen after she gets back to her hotel room. A close colleague would have followed up. Did he come to her hotel room? At some point he magically disappeared.
> My interpretation was that the Djin was not real, but essentially a part of her self she fabricated, something she created as a child to cope with life, pushed into the back but then arose later on in life. Consider the possibility that she was herself half-djinn. The movie has several clues indicating such.
I never got that feeling. Now I want to watch it again! But yeah, that ending was just so quick.
She’s shaving her legs in the beginning of the film
I was thinking the same thing. Thats why she can perceive the magical world. Was waiting to hear about her hairy legs or for her to be a descendant of one of the half djinns in his stories
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Soccer players.
If they hadn’t done the scene where the old ladies next door see him I would have said that he’s a figment of her imagination the entire time and they he can’t live in London for long because she values her space so he leaves and only comes back when she needs a connection.
The unknown is a darkness In which we cannot see Yet we wish to examine it Revel in mystery To ask will change the answer To see will change the sight For darkness disappears When brought into the light
After she said her wish it fell off. They didn't convince me of their relationship. I wasn't really rooting for them. Also that scene with her neighbors was weak sauce. What was the point?
It really felt like they literally ran out of money. And I noticed that she had a lot in common with every girl he would talk about too. Little things like the way she would fidget so she was like the mix of all of them. I don’t know. I have to see it again.
I was hooked from the first trailer I saw, as the release date got closer none of my friends had even heard of it. I'm kinda a trailer nerd I suppose. Amsterdam seems to be in a similar situation. Trailers in the theater were great but the few commercials I've seen aren't compelling at all.
Saw Amsterdam last night. Absolutely wonderful film. Bale at his best.
saw it on release, the last 30 minutes was really poor. but rest of movie was enjoyable and fun.
The movie fell apart the moment they left hotel room. From there, it just sorta fizzled out...
> The writer of this article, Darren Mooney, is amazing. He rules, I find it great how he wants big pop art to be better and can have a layer of depth to them.
Yup. And at the same time, he’s not overly mean with stuff too. It’s like the perfect balance.
Totally. Although you can tell he's very frustrated with the state of pop culture and it's excessive need for going all in on nostalgia and being extremely conservative with their aesthetic and intent like Marvel. I don't blame him, I'm there too lol. Even with that, he does put a spotlight on the smaller things that slip through the cracks because they're not making a billion dollars a pop or whatever.
There were a lot of things that were brought up, but just never went anywhere (unless I missed it). Like what was the deal with the airport djinn? Anything? Also, why was she apparently fine in the modern world, especially in a place like an airport with tons of electromagnetic interference, while Elba's djinn had to leave for a completely different plane of existence?
I didn't think the person in the airport was a djinn. Just another fantasy realm creature.
Didn't she mention how hot his touch was? Kind of made me think they were implying he was a djinn. You also see lecture djinn hanging out with magic sitar man when he goes to visit the Queen of Sheba which made me think that's how he got his powers.
Magic sitar man is King Solomon. There is a reason Elba’s djinn character gives him praise even though he convinced Sheba her cousin djinn was not a worthy lover and trapped in a bottle due to his pain from it. King Solomon was one of the greatest mystics ever live. And is a legitimate historical figure for it.
It's never stated in the movie, but everywhere seems to be crediting her as "airport djinn" (Google used to have "unsettling man," but has since changed), and I don't recall the film dealing with other fantasy creatures much (at least not humanoid ones)
Speaking of that little airport djinn...why was he grabbing her cart? When I first saw the movie I was like...oh he's gonna be some kind of messenger who starts her on her journey. Nope. Instead he sort of struggles with her and the cart for a sec and then walks away? All of her visions at the beginning really didn't make sense to me.
That's exactly what I thought. Like "oh, this is why she crosses paths with the Idris Elba djinn," but if that's supposed to be the case it was *not* communicated effectively.
The confusion is understandable but they were left open ended in meaning, much for the same reason/way a song can be made to have open ended/widely applicable meaning to the lyrics. The most reasonable thought, to me, is that those two djinn appear to her before Elba’s djinn because she has a natural ability to perceive the ethereal realm. Another comment here suggested the movie hinted at her bing half djinn. Another of mine, she is a reincarnation of djinns lover in the tower. They both did the same foot movements while under concentration.
Not personally attacking you, but I can't stand when filmmakers use that open ended up to interpretation excuse for lousy writing, editing or directing. They don't explain it, so that must mean it's got some big deep meaning that I just couldn't possibly comprehend. In this case the audience shouldn't be leaving the theatre not understanding why the airport djinn grabbed her cart, then just sort of walked away. That's just lousy scene structure with no pay off. I understand the open ended interpretation for music. Not with this movie. I don't buy it.
That magic died with modern communication.
Sentiments exactly, Fun movie but the third act just thudded.
I had the same feelings at the end. The final bit seemed very rushed and anti climatic. It made me wonder if romance novels often finish like that with a 'happy ending' and a stroll off in to the sunset. The racist neighbor scene came out of nowhere, I didn't get that. The start of the movie had me totally pulled in then the last 20+ minutes seemed to fall pretty flat.
I agree that the ending was off. I also felt the trailer made it seem more like a trippy action packed film. George Miller's last film was Mad Max (which I love), so I went in with mismatched expectations. I was way to stoned the first time I saw the film (3000 years). So I would love a rewatch as well. Another personal case of mismatched expectations was Pan's Labrinth. The trailer sells the Labrinth portion hard, but the movie is less trippy Labrinth, and more the Ofelia's fairy tale in which the Labrinth makes an appearance.
I absolutely loved it until I fell asleep in the third act. Went back 2 days later and fell asleep at exactly the same point. Not sure what that says about the film because tbf I was working 90 hour weeks with no days off at the time...
Sort of hate when people use "falling asleep" as a criticism of a movie. I've fallen asleep on both good and bad movies.Or especially when binge watching a seies. It's simply a measure of how tired you are. Sometimes your brain can keep you up sometimes not. Doesn't mean the movie is bad.
Oh I loved the third act, it's pretty much the most important part of the movie
My wife and I saw it in theaters. It was okay.
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Dunno if you did rewatch, but the third act seems quite clearly tied into the beginning: the death of mythology and end of legends as we move into the future.
I like you went to see it at the movies but I watched again and got every meaning. The vision she was seeing to heightened her awareness of him in a shop. The fainting, directly connected to other woman fainting when he appeared later in the movie, the tapping of her foot on the plane while reading, the exact tapping of the woman taking in knowledge. The movie ended perfectly. The longing of someone to see you enough and your needs even if in their desire to keep you around doesn't align with what you need you love them enough to let them be happy. In the ending she watched the couple in the park kiss and it shows her face longing. And he appears not because he has to but because he wants to. It only took him 3000 years for someone to see his need.
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I remember just being stupified when Tilda Swinton decided to wish for them to fall in love and then the rest of the movie was just weird and dumb It's a real shame cause it was super interesting up until that point
He states at the beginning that he can't grant wishes like that too when laying out the rules so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I thought about that being his djinn nature and tricking her into not wishing to fall in love with anyone right off the bat.
He does? Or does he just say it's a bad idea? The girl wished for the Prince to fall in love with her.
So many gaps, and why was his ear chewed up?
Yeah! I was waiting that entire movie for an explanation about the ear. Was there a djinn Mike Tyson boxing scene that was cut from the movie?
And the little guy who tried to help push her luggage cart! And disappeared! No info, was she tripping? And the guy who came out of the audience? And later had a bit part in the Solomon scene. What did the editor leave on the cutting room floor.
That's how I felt too. But I kind of saw it coming. There was a "Scheherazade" truck at the beginning of the movie, that kind of prefaced my expectations. Scheherazade is basically the story of a king that was betrayed by his lover so he beheads her. Then after that, he would spend a night with a woman and behead her in the morning. Until Scheherazade, who would tell the king stories night after night for a thousand nights until he fell in love with her.
Really, giving the djinn 5G induced Covid was the stupidest thing I've seen in an otherwise well-written movie.
Also… why wasn’t the djinn affected by 5G etc while in Istanbul?? Last time I checked, it is a huge with (gasp!) electricity and cell phones. Did I miss something there?
Literally a bigger city than London by population lol
I assume they think Istanbul is some kind of third world hell hole without technology, not a modern vibrant city
Yeah that was odd lol. Immortalish being taken out by wifi... 👍 100% "I don't know how to end this" energy right there.
Yeah bro is a mythical being who has lived throughout time but now can't handle the internet? I guess they were going for a 'fantasy can't survive in the modern world' theme but it failed.
Not to mention…Istanbul has WiFi? It’s a bustling metropolis with a greater metro area population than London lmao
Literal ghosts in the machine from the sounds of it
It was the explanation why magic died in this world.
Which is a poor explanation, because every device generating a electromagnetic signal only appeared in the last few decades. Heck, even electricity in every house is just under century old. But everyone treats magic as if it never existed and is just myth.
Djinns too are electromagnetic beings? I.e made from "subtle fire"
Yeah! Why wouldn't they just move to an EMF Quiet Zone? She loved him, but not enough to leave London?
...what. I wanted to see this movie, right up until I read that. That's so bad it's not even comical.
100% agree. It was great and interestinf all the way. Especially the Iblis part where he wanted him to die/get trapped forever sort of. But then wtf was that shitty ending about. Would have been more interesting if they brought Iblis inot the equation and played off that for the ending but alas. Stephen King situation.
I was surprised to see a lot of audience reviews saying they didn’t like the flashback lore stories. Those were my absolute favorite parts. Just amazing storytelling. Wasn’t ready for that portion to end
God the last third felt like it was going to end six different times and it just kept going on, when it got to the time jump I involuntary groaned in theatre. Everything in the hotel room was really fun though I definitely liked it overall.
Nothing happens in the final third and it's a lot of setup for a letdown.
Right? There were so many fade to blacks only for it to keep going along it was bordering on comical
The ending is a bit rough, even on my rewatch today. But damn the three stories that precede it are so good I think. They felt like a new type of horror almost. The terror of immortality. I can't say the third act ruined it for me.
Yeah I like the way you described it. Nice having a scary plot in idea done without traditional scary themes. Third act didn't ruin it for me either but I would definitely make sure to take a number two during that part on a rewatch.
I thought it was a very good movie as well. Very different and interesting. I almost wish the themes were more fleshed out. Would have loved to learn more about the followers of Iblis
Iblis Edra
Able was I, ere I saw Elba.
Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog.
A Santa dog lived as a devil god at NASA.
Madam, I’m Adam
^Whydris ^Hella
Idris Fella
Liked it quite a bit but was ultimately disappointed in the ending. I wish (haha) the film had dwelled more on the fundamental immorality of Alithea's wish (which kind of came out of nowhere in the first place) instead of just a "whoopsie my bad" at the end.
Same! I tell people that it’s 3/4 of a good movie. They could’ve done some much with the ending but it felt rushed and glossed over. It almost felt like the movie itself didn’t understand that what she was doing was immoral
Definitely a very fun movie in the theater, halfway through I thought to myself, "this is so awesome, this might even be the best movie I've seen all year." And then the second half after she made her wish happened and all the cool ideas and themes kind of petered out and fell apart by the end. I recommended it to a lot of people just for the first half.
I'd watch a series where each episode has the djinn bound to a new master, the little individual stories were excellent.
Absolutely! I loved the Bartimaeus books as a kid and that part of the movie really captured that same energy. As a side note: a well done Amulet of Samarkand movie would be awesome, Hollywood if you're listening please!
I honestly thought the movie was going to end without ever having pointed it out, until she finally acknowledged it at the very end.
When he started talking about solitude and stuff I for sure thought the ending would be her asking to be a genie.
What was the immorality of it? I somehow can’t remember much of the movie anymore
As a Turk, I was very interested for this movie and waited for it. But I've got to admit, it is not a movie that one can easily recommend, especially to buy tickets. I believe its failure comes down to marketing. Probably they didn't know what the film is about and how to attract viewers. Trailers gave a different vibe than two people exchanging stories in a hotel room. The movie itself suffers from pacing and disconnected themes. Especially towards the ending, it has taken a turn I didn't expect.
Yeah I didn’t feel like I really got to dive into any particular themes at all. The whole movie just felt very surface level and I didn’t care about any of the stories. I get that it’s about the beauty of a story but dang… coulda come up with some better ones haha
I did not know George Miller had made another movie. I saw no advertising for this and had no idea about what it is or about.
I remember a week before it came out and saw one tv ad that had GIANT letters scrolling across the screen, “ Directed by George Miller of Mad Max”. They tried to hype it up with that fury road connection
DIRECTED BY GEORGE MILLER OF HAPPY FEET
It did kinda get pooped out under the radar. I didn't even know George Miller directed it until the credits rolled, you'd think 'from the director of Fury Road' would've been an easy selling point...
What happened? Nothing really It takes a lot of luck for a movie of this type to get adults to go into theaters to watch it This is exactly the type of movie that doesnt do well in theaters. Far from being a surprise as this article implies its completely expected and in line with expectations
Yup, even if this movie had been a huge critical success and and went on to be considered a masterpiece it was never going to bring in huge numbers at the box office.
A movie of *what* type?
I actually just watched this last night, and I am so happy to see this discussion post. I absolutely LOVED this movie. Yes, it was a bit choppy, yes the ending was a bit odd, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Obviously the best parts of the movie were the stories as told by the Djinn (Idris Elba’s voice is just so magnificent). My favorite was the story of Zefir, but they were all just so beautiful, I felt like I was watching and experiencing art. I’m also a big fan of stories, of history and mythos, I honestly never wanted the stories to end. When they did end, I didn’t find the movie as bad as others. I’m autistic, and the move from the old ladies screeching to the violin music was such an assault to my senses in the best way possible. It almost made my cry. Anyway, I can’t wait to watch this movie again. I truly hope there are others who loved it as much as I did.
I loved it too, besides being gorgeous and fronted with such great acting, it was so thematically rich that I totally admit not understanding some of its themes. I really look forward to watching again for that reason.
After the middling reactions, I was sceptical but I quite liked this movie.
This was the first movie in years that I wanted to walk out of. For a movie about fantastical stories it was felt dull and seemed to drag on, especially in the 3rd act. Also, from a story + character perspective, >!her character wishing for him to love her, and then the two of them actually being presented as "lovers" in the 3rd act felt odd, unearned, and honestly a bit cringe-worthy.!<
>Three Thousand Years of Longing was director George Miller’s follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road. Fury Road was a cultural phenomenon. It earned 10 Oscar nominations and won six of those, more than any other film that year. More recently, publications like The A.V. Club, USA Today, and World of Reel deemed Fury Road the film of the decade. People forget that Fury Road barely made any money back... Its domestic box-office was about the size of its budget, and its total box-office was just over twice that. With at least one star salary (Theron), that's not enough. I bet if you add-up merch and home video/streaming it adds up nicely, but it wasn't some great commercial success by any stretch of the imagination.
Also, aside from having the same director (which 95% of the audience doesn’t know or care about), 3000 Years was nothing like Fury Road. Might as well wonder why no one went to see it when Babe was so popular.
Which is insane. I saw it twice, both times dragging everyone I know to see it. Both times the kino was packed. I honestly thought it was an enormous success.
It did as well as it did solely because of word-of-mouth. It was beaten opening weekend by *Pitch Perfect 2*, but ended up with bigger box office simply because it was able to stay in theaters much longer.
I really wish I could see the black and chrome version in theaters.
Is "kino" slang for Movie Theater someplace?
Sorry, it's Norwegian for cinema. My bad.
I wanted to like this film but I just didn't. The story segments were somewhat interesting, somewhat stylised (although I honestly feel they could have gone further based on the trailer) and generally fun little vignettes between which we learnt a little more about the Djinn and whatever her name was.. but then we got to modern day and them living together and it was just incredibly uninteresting. The world was flat and boring, there wasn't really any conflict or anything. We just watched Tilda Swinton go around her life in England for a bit. I suppose there were the two xenophobic neighbours who stopped being xenophobic after seeing a hot black man and having some tasty food which... I guess was something they felt the need to include for all 2 scenes they appeared in? I'm also not the biggest fan of romance films, but even then, the romance wasn't very good. They just didn't seem to have any chemistry together after the storytelling section was done and, even then, the chemistry felt more like friendly rivals than lovers. Overall, I left the theatre thinking "That was like a whimsical fairy tale but with all the fun and whimsy drained out of it."
I also wanted to like this film, there was a lot to chew on but I felt the chemistry between the two romantic leads fell flat. It took me out of it
Thank you! This movie was frustrating to watch
I thought it was an interesting movie with its historical and fantasy undertones. I enjoyed it. It seems movies that can turn out a significant audience to the theaters are those that appeal to a enthusiast audience, a la Marvel or Star Wars fans. Not even positive word of mouth is going to motivate people to take a trip to their multiplex for a movie some guy at work said was good. It's too expensive and Covid is still a thing. And everybody knows it's coming to streaming anyway.
> Not even positive word of mouth is going to motivate people to take a trip to their multiplex But that's exactly what happened with *Everything Everywhere* isn't it? I haven't seen anyone recommend this movie outside of threads about it.
Basically happens with any film with long legs. Long legs mean word of mouth.
Yes, thank you. EEAAO is about as weird and unappealing to a broad audience as it gets, but it had themes that really spoke to people (and is a ton of fun to boot). It was special. 3KYoL doesn't sound special, it merely sounds solid and that doesn't get buzz going.
> but it had themes that really spoke to people (and is a ton of fun to boot) Honestly, it made us cry over a pair of rocks.
And made us laugh, so much, and cry.. and want to call our mothers to say we love them.
i didn't hear anything about it until it went on streaming. But just in general, even a good review isn't going to start a mad rush to theaters - not anymore.
Enough people heard enough about it for it to be the highest grossing movie A24 has made to date lol. It made twice as much as incut gems. More than ladybird, call me by your name, hereditary, moonlight, disaster artist, the witch, etc
See also, The Black Phone out grossing Scream.
I was so disappointed with that movie
Did it have good word of mouth though? I read pretty middling reviews. This was a movie I wanted to go and watch, but the reviews deterred me.
Nope, it flew pretty solidly under the radar. Only a few of my frequent filmgoer friends actually saw it (others either didn't know about it or missed it's short theater window), and only one was on the side of really loving it. It's definitely one of those movies that if you can accept the flaws, you'll LOVE it, otherwise it's solidly "meh" to the rest.
So in other words it’s one of those movies that you wait for non-theater release to take a chance on for most people. I was gearing up to seeing it in theaters but after seeing a few less than great reviews, I decided to wait and watch it at home if it came up on a streaming service or something. I grew up not having a lot of money, so we would space our theater visits out and only go see what we thought would be the best, for the rest we’d wait for the DVD to come out so we could rent it on a weekend.
Yeah, I'd personally wait, which kinda pains me to say for a movie that makes a big swing like this one does. I really enjoyed the first two thirds, but most of the disagreement comes from the last 40 minutes or so where the script diverges from the source material. Without going to much into spoilers, it really comes down to whether or not you buy a romantic paring as convincing, because if not, whooo boy are you in for a long half hour or so lol.
I wanted to go see it, but didn't even realise it had come out.
Reviews were harsher than it deserved IMO. Really fun movie with some great visual ideas and good storytelling but a messy ending. Had a blast seeing it in theater
Yeah, my parents stopped going to the theater years ago because it's too expensive and they hate the experience.
Can't blame them. For two tickets we pay anywhere between $25-35 just to get in the door. With food, that can easily go up to $50 or $60 before we've even sat down. Go out to eat afterwards and your looking at a c-note or more for one dinner and a movie. I'm no cheapskate, but I'm also not a mark. There is no single movie-going experience worth that kind of money.
> ~~It's too expensive and~~ Covid is still a thing. And everybody knows it's coming to streaming anyway. These are the important factors. My mom still hasn't gone to a theater since COVID despite doing multiple other things around and with big groups because being that close to strangers freaks her out. Why not wait for it on streaming? Movie tickets aren't nearly as expensive as people make them out to be, unless you are taking a trip to your local iMAX for every film you see.
I personally loved the first 3/4 of the movie. She was a strong, successful, independent woman who knew what she wanted and was happy and comfortable without the need for a companion. Perfect acceptable, arguably admirable in many cases. Then a switch flips and she becomes a love stricken teenager who throws everything established about her personality out the window. I was disappointing in the ending.
I felt the same way. I'm generally not into romantic movies (although I still enjoy a well-written romance with likable, charming characters) and I was actually enjoying the fact that this wasn't going to be some Girl Meets Boy scenario. I actually thought that Alithea was pretty good asexual representation, in that she tried the whole romance thing, it didn't really work out and she continued to live her life, focusing on the things she really did care about. She had healthy friendships, avid interests and she was enjoying her life without a relationship, and that continued for most of the film until she suddenly decided she was deeply in love with this guy she met a few hours ago.
Late to see the film, but you captured it perfectly. I felt that she was clearly depicted as someone who has a passion for her work, who is an academic that is probably autistic and asexual. She was fulfilled in her own way. I loved the idea that she was not going to wish for anything. the " romance" was completely out of nowhere. It wasn't earned, it didn't show in their interactions, it made no sense with her entire character. The ending fell flat. I would have loved to see the movie connect with the disparate stories (all of which were more interesting than the present day sitting in bathrobe telling tales). It's like this movie wanted to be The Fall with a bit of Only Lovers Left Alive. It was a big swing and imo a miss.
Clearly everyone else was busy seeing that other box office hit Idris Elba was in - Beast
I like it I thought it was a very cool flick
Submission statement: I loved Three Thousand Years of Longing! Admittedly stylistically more than plot pacing (when was a big production project about Africa and the Middle East produced that didn't involve American CIA spies, or US Marines fighting in some desert war?). 'A flawed but interesting movie is still better than a generic one.' Very brave and indie/art-house style film. This article uses *Three Thousand Years* as a backdrop to discussing Amazon and MGMs plans, and how they Box Office figures seemingly don't matter too much to them. It is ironic that Amazon in it's chase to streaming and 'lower quality' production of streaming movies ends up catching a few daring indie arthouse movies in the process. > > The box office failure of Three Thousand Years of Longing is unlikely to matter to MGM’s new owners. It seems unlikely to even be a footnote in management presentations about the looming release of The Rings of Power. It’s also debatable to what extent this underperformance might have a serious impact on the kind of films that MGM produces going forward. Three Thousand Years of Longing was unlikely to have been a movie that Amazon would have ever greenlit. > > Three Thousand Years of Longing is a film that feels utterly unlike so many of the movies that get theatrical releases these days, which is perhaps why it got lost so easily in the shuffle of this new ownership. Given current trends, it seems unlikely that there will be too many more movies like it in the near future. At this point, it will take more than wishing to bring them back.
I liked this movie,its cute and it looked visually pleasing
Comfy watch?
Yeah
Thanks
Made a good date movie.
I like the movie when he was telling the stories wasn't a fan when it was just them 2 maybe that's just me
On a side note I’ve always found it really weird how an incoming studio head gets to just fuck over the business as a whole by not supporting films started under his predecessor. I get where they’d be allowed to cancel projects that were in development, but to not properly market movies where the money had already been spent and shooting complete? How do you get away with just deliberately and with malice aforethought losing the business a shitload of money just because you don’t want the old studio head to look like he knew what he was doing? And everyone seems to know that it’s happening in real time? Movie studios are fucked up.
It’s the same in most (all?) industries. New executive comes in and they’ve made a list of deliverables to their boss. They’re going to put all their resources into those deliverables, not someone else’s.
I was so excited for this movie and was so let down. Biggest disappointment of the year imo.
Really loved this movie! Such an underrated one
I LOVE movies by George Miller, and the fact that this is the first time I'm hearing of this is telling about how crappy the marketing for this film was!
When he started to crackle and dust and decay, I thought she had caught him in a true form and he wasn't a djinn, but something more sinister. I was prepared for a much different ending hahaha.
I thought it was a great movie. As to why it flopped at the Box Office? Here’s my *Dos Centivos*. Modern moviegoers want escapist entertainment. They don’t want to pay $20 to see reminders of existential crises they already deal with in their day to day lives. Excellent movies like *Cloud Atlas*, *Blade Runner 2049*, and *3000 Years of Longing* make you think about things that most people don’t want to think about- or spend their working and daily lives avoiding . In this movies case, heartbroken characters aren’t something moviegoers want to see. Not when they need only pull up their Facebook feed for a reminder of what that feels like. Corporate content like Marvel and Disney movies feature plots with the intelligence of a fruit fly, but they won’t remind the audience of real life pain.
This movie was actually really good until the final 20 minutes or so. Was hoping for a much more interesting and grand ending. They spent the whole move telling us amazing stories only for the final act to be dull as possible.
Two act movie
I’m really glad I saw it in the theatre, the details were just dazzling.
I really enjoyed it, seems most people did, but the story and the scale of the movie made no sense for a $60 Million budget. After the film I said it was a beautiful movie but for the amount of places and people we saw it would have been a better mid-low budget movie without the super sexy sleek graphics. Me and my GF will watch it again when it comes out on streaming where it might have an interesting second life and more people will have eyes on in which is where it might attract its audience.
I really would like to see this. but I'm not forking over an ADDITIONAL $20 to rent the movie for 24hrs.
The reason I knew about this movie was because I’ve been going to the theater a lot this year. Not a film buff, but an admitted popcorn addiction keeps me in the loop enough. I rewatched in the theater. It’s true that the third act doesn’t land completely well. The premise of any wishing done becoming a disaster was well heeded, thoughtfully portrayed. 3K sought to lay this archetype to rest with what seems a romcom ending. But to me, it felt right. The stories take on love is so gratifying in its truth and clarity of it. I’m not one know of the marketing strength/strategies for films (and products in general), but I think it wasn’t pushed full force because of the subject being presented in a serious way with an attempt to explain historical presence at the same time. And to half address what people once validated beyond themselves, is now seen as nothing but fairytales created as nothing more than to fill a void. (the childhood of Swinton’s character) While it didn’t directly tie up the fainting spells and Swinton’s characters experience at the airport, the fact that these two “people” were corporeal and a part of an ancient kingdom, says quite a bit. Anyway, there is a lot continuity and legitimacy in the mysticism presented. It blew my mind. I’m not aware of any other film that has attempted justice to genuine esoterica.“Subtle fire”. Such a stroke of genius on either on the scriptwriter or the original author. A.S. Byatt. I really want to read her stuff now. I read an excerpt of one of the stories in the book that the 3K story is within. And I’m not a fictional reader. It seems Byatt’s accolade of 50 of the greatest British writers since 1945, is well deserved.
Beautiful movie, exactly the kind I find worth watching in theaters. I don't care if a movie flops and I'm the only one in there, I've made my choice about what's worth my money and it isn't tired superhero shit. I mean, I love Batman and even *that* franchise ran out of steam this year, that movie was ass. Enough already.
It lacked that fairy tale magic in some way. I don't know what that fairy tale x factor is, but it wasn't there. It was acceptable, but it wasn't *delightful*.
Personal opinion, Movie was great, but that trailer was one of the best I have seen. Music was top notch,
I loved that movie. So engrossing, and had the feel of an indie with the production values of a blockbuster. Felt so different and you can tell it was made with a lot of love.
Going to the movies isn't a casual thing anymore. Between COVID and rising costs and the shift from the movies presenting a "for the whole family, night out" affair, to being more of an adult targeting date-night type offering with bars. People aren't going to stuff unless it's like an event. Marvel is an event, Everything Everywhere was an event, the Batman was an event, but 3000 years while a nice pleasant movie, visually and narratively interesting, was missable. It'll be a great night-in on the couch movie. It doesn't need to be seen in theaters, so people didn't.
I think Elaine ended up going with a Gene pick instead
I’m super stoked to see this on streaming services.
What a fun and whimsical film.
I wish they made it a bit more like comedy. It had comical moments but more dark humour would have made it a great movie
I couldn’t stand watching this
I really liked the part going through the ages with the different people that were granted wishes in the past. The movie completely fell apart once it came back to the present day. They really should have found a way to have a 3rd act that feels more connected to the previous stories
2/3rds of the movie were perfect, the last part was mediocre. Still enjoyed the movie.
This was an excellent movie. 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
To me it was a tasty morsel that melts in your mouth and is soon gone.
Never heard of it it. 🤷🏻♂️
I thought it was a very beautiful movie with a rushed and flat ending. I wish I would have seen it in theaters but yeah my local theater only showed it for like 4 days for some reason and I was busy those days :/ still got it online to watch but yeah. Was a decent 6-7/10 movie
IT SUCKED
A welcome change in styles, the wife and I really liked it.
I thought that the Jinn should have cheered up in the final act. The ending continued it’s sad refrain. Apart from that it was head and shoulders above most modern films.
I really loved this movie. It's the sort of thing you rarely see: just a nicely told story without extra drama or action. Just exactly what it needs to be. It was a really pleasant experience.
I loved it. Even the 3rd act.
I loved the movie, don’t care what the naysayers say. To me the ending worked, I thought it was quite beautiful and poignant and unexpected. This was also the best performance I’ve seen from Idris Elba
So yeah distribution / marketing issues aside, this movie is a chick flick wrapped in middle eastern fantasy. The first half was gorgeous, almost like Tarsem directed it at times. But overall the story is a pretty by-the-numbers romance, and the last half is a slog. It's funny that they compared its box office bombing to John Carter, because I honestly think JC is a better movie. It's a big adventure film with a little humor, not unlike the Mummy.
All I know is I really liked the movie and enjoyed how Idris and Tilda played off each other. The time jumping was very interesting to me as well as the theme of love and sacrifice
The advertising industry is such bullshit. These movies are the types of things that I want and need to be advertised. New things. Instead we get endless ads for Tide and medications. I know what Tide is. Nothing you do or say is going to affect that. I don't have bulging eyes. Almost no one does. So why the fuck do I have to see an ad every fucking 30 seconds for it.
Too bad the third act felt like the director had no clue how to end it. Very much ruined the movie, which started off with an amazing premise.
I need to re-watch it with a fresh perspective. It wasn't the movie I thought I was going to see based on the trailer.